Discarnation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The condition of lacking a physical body, commonly linked to the idea of a spiritual state beyond the material realm
2. An experience characterized by the absence of corporeal form, often thought to relate to life beyond physical existence
3. The state of being without a physical body, frequently associated with beliefs surrounding spiritual existence beyond the tangible world

Etymology: Strip the flesh from a body and you have the idea at the core of this word. It is built on "discarnate," meaning without flesh, which likely combines the Latin prefix "dis-", indicating separation or removal, with "carnis," the genitive of "caro," meaning flesh. That same root gives English "carnal" and "carnivore," so a single idea of flesh underlies both bodily appetite and its absence. The noun is a plain derivative. The suffix "-ion" turns the adjective "discarnate" into a noun naming a state or condition, here the condition of having no physical body. The term is used mostly in writing about spirits and disembodied existence.